Welcome to the Office of Admissions

We are now accepting electronic and paper applications for the Summer 2015 and Fall 2015 semesters. Find application information here.

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION FOR THE FALL 2015 SEMESTER IS TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2015. APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THIS DATE WILL BE CONSIDERED ONLY FOR "LATE START" CLASSES THAT BEGIN ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 .

The deadline for new matriculated students who intend to begin in the regular Fall 2015 semester to be accepted for admission, complete placement testing, and register for classes is Thursday, August 27. Students who complete these processes after this date may only enter our "Late Start" classes that begin on Thursday, September 17.

Our Office is located on the first floor
(Room 120) in the Stockade Building.
Questions about how to become a degree or certificate student? Please e-mail admissions@sunysccc.edu.

Schenectady County Community College participates in the Full Opportunity Program of the State University of New York. Under this plan, SCCC guarantees open admission to all applicants who reside in Schenectady County who graduated from high school with a local or regents diploma within the prior year, and to applicants who were released from active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States within the prior year. Additionally, the College admits previous high school graduates and residents of other counties who can profit from its programs and services, to the limits of the College's capacity, and subject to compliance with any deadlines or requirements established by the College in its admissions procedures. Applicants who are enrolled in high school as juniors should refer to the Early Admission Program information.

The College admits students with a wide variety of academic backgrounds. Through testing, counseling, placement in courses, tutoring services, developmental courses in reading and writing, and developmental laboratories in mathematics, the College seeks to evaluate each student as an individual and to provide appropriate courses and services. It does not claim to guarantee academic success. It can only provide the full opportunity for academic success. Furthermore, admission under the Full Opportunity Program does not guarantee students that they will be able to complete the curriculum to which they applied in two years of full-time study. Applicants entering in the spring or summer semesters and those needing to complete prerequisite courses may require five or more semesters to complete degree requirements.

Most new students must take the COMPASS placement test, administered by Academic Services. For information about this test, click here.

Schenectady County Community College emphasizes flexibility and opportunity in its Full Opportunity admissions policy. Because the college accepts not only students of demonstrated ability, but also those of less developed talent, individuals who feel that they can profit from college level instruction are invited to apply for admission.

Applicants for a degree or certificate program must possess either a local or Regent's High School Diploma or a NYS TASC (formerly known as the GED). An I.E.P. diploma is not a recognized diploma. An official high school transcript (sent directly from the granting institution) is required for all applicants who graduated secondary school within the United States or its territories. Similarly, a student holding a TASC/GED will be required to submit the transcript of scores and/or the TASC/GED diploma.

Do you have questions about what is an official transcript? Click here.

Students who wish to apply into the Honors Concentration for the Liberal Arts Program should go through the regular admissions process and the Liberal Arts Honors Concentration selection process. Learn more about the Honors Concentration and its selection process here: www.sunysccc.edu/honors. Students will receive notification of their general admissions status from the Admissions Office when all admissions documents are received. The Honors Coordinator will contact all Liberal Arts Honors Concentration applicants separately regarding entry into the Honors Concentration.

In order to verify that a student meets the admissions requirements of the college, the admissions office requires that official, sealed overseas transcripts be submitted to the admissions office for review. If the transcript is not in English, the student must arrange for a translation. If the admissions office is unable to evaluate the transcript, the student will be notified and may use an evaluation agency such as WES (World Education Services: www.wes.org), ECE (Educational Credentials Evaluators: www.ece.org), or Joseph Silny and Associates (www.jsilny.com) at the student’s expense. Either equivalency to a U.S. secondary school graduation (completion of U.S. 12th grade) or completion of the equivalent of a U.S. college degree must be shown.

Because of the time required to review overseas transcripts, the deadlines for submitting overseas transcripts to the Admissions Office for review are:
May 15, 2015 for the summer 2015 semester and August 14, 2015 for the
fall 2015 semester.

If the student holds an associates or bachelors degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution, an official copy of the transcript sent directly from the college to SCCC will substitute for the above.

In accordance with the policy set forth by the State University of New York (SUNY), students who are home-schooled must satisfy one of the following to be eligible for consideration for admission into SCCC:

The student must have a passing score on the state high school equivalency diploma (GED) test. (Only students who have reached the maximum compulsory age of school attendance are eligible to take this test.)

The student must provide a letter from the superintendent of the school district in which the student resides, attesting to the student's completion of home instruction meeting the requirements of Section 100.10 of the regulations of the Commissioner of Education (or equivalent for students who reside outside of New York state.)

Applicants who have studied at other colleges prior to matriculating at Schenectady County Community College will need to submit an official transcript from each of the educational institutions previously attended in order for transfer credit to be evaluated. Detailed information regarding applicable transfer credit and residence requirements is addressed in the section on Certificate of Residence.

Students are encouraged to apply to SCCC by using the College's Free Application of Admission. The application can be obtained from the Admissions Office (518-381-1366) or here.

Students may also use the SUNY Application for Admission. Visit www.suny.edu for information.

All applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible, beginning in the fall preceding the year they wish to attend SCCC. Applicants without a high school diploma or a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) should contact the Office of Admissions to discuss special directions on the processing of their applications. Applications are evaluated upon the receipt of all required documents before a decision can be reached; then, the applicant will be notified of an admissions decision.

The College admissions application requires applicants to answer the questions: "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" and "Have you ever been expelled and/or dismissed from another college or university for disciplinary reasons?" An applicant who answers "yes" will need to submit additional information. The College reserves the ultimate decision on acceptance or rejection of any application. Applicants should also be aware that an individual with a felony conviction may not be able to obtain licensure in certain professions. The normal deadlines for students to apply if answering "yes" to one or both of these questions is August 1 for fall admission, December 1 for spring admission and May 1 for summer admission.

As a result of SCCC's participation in Tech Prep and School-to-Work partnerships, a variety of articulation arrangements have been established with regional high schools and vo-tec centers to facilitate the seamless transition from secondary to post secondary studies. For information, contact the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at 381-1381.

For a student enrolled full time to complete the requirements of a degree program in four semesters, it is essential that the student be adequately prepared in the stated course prerequisites. The College provides opportunities for students who may need to obtain necessary prerequisites. The need of such course prerequisites may, however, require a student to complete additional credit hours and/or semesters to complete the specified degree program requirements.

SCCC participates in the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). New students will be screened by the offices of Admission and Financial Aid for eligibility. For more information on EOP, click here: EOP